PH police raid POGO hub in Metro Manila, 650 persons of interest held; hub also allegedly conducted ‘love scams; dedicated studio revealed by authorities

In the latest development of POGO raids in the Philippines, authorities have uncovered a studio where workers conduct ‘love scams;’ PH senator decries development, says country becoming ‘human trafficking hub of the world.’

Original story by GMA Integrated News with insights from the ACN Newsdesk

Authorities raided an alleged POGO and ‘cybercrime hub’ in Pasay City, Metro Manila, ’Tuesday; a total of 650 workers, 464 of whom are Filipinos and 186 foreigners of various nationalities, were taken into custody.

According to John Consulta and Jonathan Andal’s report on “24 Oras,” requests for video calls are done in the studio that has a bed, side desk and several clothes.

The other side of the studio was made to appear like an office workplace with a table, computer and fake books.

The police early this year rescued around 3,000 Filipino and foreign workers while serving a search warrant on a Las Piñas City Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) firm allegedly involved in human trafficking and other illegal activities.

Authorities also discovered some foreign fugitives among the rescued workers. Last July, 100,000 unregistered sim cards were also recovered from the raided hub.

Apart from love scam, the workers were also asked to engage in crypto scams, and task scams.

“Someone sends you a message urging you to like social media posts, so you’ll be hooked; from there, you’ll come to a point where you’ve earned a lot, then they’ll ask for an investment for you to unlock your earnings. When you pay a little, that’s where these scammers get you,” said Philippine Department of Justice Undersecretary Nicholas Felix Ty.

The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) said it inspected the facility last July 26 and noticed that it has equipment that could possibly be used for scams, but it failed to send a report to the police.

The Philippine government has recently intensified efforts against illegal gambling in the country. Recently, a component city of Metro Manila  issued a city-wide ban against POGOs and other online gambling activities.

National government figures have also made pronouncements in support of these recent developments against POGOs, with the country’s Finance Secretary saying that the revenue is not worth retaining the industry.

Senators have likewise urged the Marcos government to issue an absolute ban on POGOs altogether, with one senator saying that online gambling operators get away with ‘billions of unpaid taxes.

The PNP-ACG, who said that may be joining POGO inspections with other government agencies in the future, also said that several Filipinos nabbed in the Las Piñas POGO hub, but were subsequently released, were re-arrested in a recent raid on a Cavite scam-hub.

National government figures have also made pronouncements in support of these recent developments against POGOs, with the country’s Finance Secretary saying that the revenue is not worth retaining the industry.

Senators have likewise urged the Marcos government to issue an absolute ban, with one senator saying that online gambling operators get away with ‘billions of unpaid taxes.

On the local government side, since last year, other component cities of Metro Manila have had regulations against POGOs with the latest being Valenzuela issuing an outright ban in the city.

Read the original story by GMA integrated news here and learn from how leading national figures like PH Senator Sherwin Gatchalian reacted to the development https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/topstories/metro/877737/cybercrime-hub-in-pasay-has-studio-for-love-scam/story/